Our Commitment to Sustainable Practices
Our goal is to serve our community as a resilient and sustainable library. We are committed to following the “triple bottom line” definition of sustainability by embodying practices that are environmentally sound, economically feasible and socially equitable. In 2023, the library enrolled in the Sustainable Libraries Initiative Certification Program and have been steadily working to complete the process.
Building
OFL works closely with the building owners to make our space more comfortable and efficient. We added heat pumps to take the burden off our oil furnace in the shoulder seasons. Not long ago, the library space converted fully to LED’s. We cheered on our upstairs neighbor, Orwell Historical Society, when they installed window inserts and a heat pump to better control heat loss.
In the coming years, we will fix and find a solution to our front door challenges. We also hope to tighten our windows and add storm windows where needed.
Services
We offer a multitude of community resources meant to be used and reused. Our collection of 10,000 books, our library of things that includes everything from an egg incubator to folding tables and chairs, our computers and printers, and the flexible public space we occupy speak to sustainable practices that build a resilient community.
Our community will shift and change and we will work to meet the needs with the services we provide while still being economically feasible, environmentally sound, and socially equitable.
Programming
The region around Orwell offers a multitude of programs and organizations that support working towards the stated goals. Energy Navigators and VEEP have both connected with the community through OFL. Library staff have direct links to CVOEO and other organizations that support our population.
Providing the space and reason for our community to come together, for story time or a cup of hot coffee, gives locals a reason to fight for a resilient community.
Committed to our
Past Present & Future Community
Orwell and the individuals that reside in this place deserve a library that is responsible with it’s resources and considerate of the future. Library staff are committed to working closely with local boards and groups to use our resources for the betterment of the entire community. Our town is tiny. We do not have a chamber of commerce, recreation director, or town manager. The library works to serve as the connector that fosters relationships between groups, provides connections to town projects and encourages future planning.
Sustainable Libraries Initiative
The Sustainable Libraries Initiative (SLI) provides library leaders with a proven path forward to co-create libraries and communities that will thrive in the coming years. The Sustainable Library Certification Program and the SLI community of practice focuses your leadership to enable your library, and ultimately your community, to become more environmentally sound, socially equitable and economically feasible.